The Ruinous Powers – Duplicity

I’ve been building and painting Chaos models for close to two decades now, and as far as I remember, I have never ever done a Tzeentch model. Is it because, as an ardent follower of Khorne, I despise the duplicitious and craven servants of the Lord of Change? Or is it the fact that the sheer amount of mutation and physical corruption among Tzeentch’s servants is putting me off? Or maybe I am just to dense for the intricacies of great Tzeentch’s schemes? Whatever may be the reason that I have never worked on a servant of Tzeentch, it is an oversight I intend to rectify. This time on “The Ruinous Powers”: Duplicity.

Thinking about what model I wanted to build to represent a champion of Tzeentch, I came across three possible archetypes: The soulless automata of the Rubric Marines, the favoured champion, twisted and mutated beyond measure and the mysterious and sinister sorcerer, embittered veteran of the fall of Prospero, unknowable in his designs and schemes, just as his lord. It is rather hard to imbue a Rubric Marine with any sense of character, and I dislike over-the-top mutations, so the choice really was a no brainer for me.

I wanted to build a model that clearly was a Chaos Space Marine, but still had a very distinct silhouette. And I also wanted to add all kinds of visual cues to the mystic exploits of the champion, symbolising his eternal pursuit of knowledge and magickal prowess. With those main considerations in mind, I built the model. Here it is:

I used the lower half and forearms of a WFB Sorcerer Lord to give the model a silhouette distinctly different from a regular Marine, while the torso and upper arms are regular (Chaos) Space Marine parts. The sorcerer’s left arm provided me with a great looking staff, while the right hand looked like the model was bout to cast its vile magicks. The WFB parts also made the model significantly taller and leaner, enforcing the look of a character whose mental faculties are far more important than his physical prowess.

To clearly show the champion’s affiliation, I used the “Tzeentchian” head and shoulder pad from the regular CSM kit as well as a pretty old metal shoulder pad bearing the Thousand Son’s legion badge that had mysteriously survived in the depths of my bitzbox.

And finally, I added all kinds of trinkets and artifacts to the model: Pouches, books and other doodads, indispensable in its arcane rituals, and a holstered pistol, as the most basic concession to physical warfare.

For the model’s paintjob, I wanted to deviate from my usual routine (rather dark and gritty) and use slightly more luxurious and vibrant tones. I went for the Thousand Son’s typical colours of blue and gold, with dark red chosen as a contrast colour. Here’s the model after I laid down the base colours and liberally washed pretty much everything with GW Devlan Mud to tie the different colours together:

After that, it was really just a question of careful highlighting. I wanted to make it look like the sorcerer was just about to unleash his powers, so I tried to paint a glowing effect on his “third eye”, the eyes of his staff, the runes in the spellbook and the Tzeentch symbol on his shoulder pad. Check it out:

Here’s a detail shot of the shoulder pad, so you can see the lighting effect (and the reeeally oldskool Thousand Sons legion badge on his right shoulder):

1993 in the house, yo! 😉

Anyway, the glowing parts really bring the model to life in my opinion. I decided to replicate the glowing effect on the base as well. Here’s the completed base:

I added a magic rock and a couple of cut-up Wood Elf Dryad twigs to the base to show some strange roots. It looks pretty ambiguous and is quite a nice fit for the mysterious nature of the model. Like I said, a glowing effect was added to the spirals carved into the stone.

And with that, the servant of Tzeentch was complete. Take a look at the finished model:

And another detail shot of the base:

I think the finished model really looks the part. And you really wonder what’s behind the helmet, don’t you? Maybe it’s best not to find out…

Anyway, with the modelling and painting out of the way, all that was left was to write a few lines of text. And with that, the champion of Tzeentch was brought to life:

Magister Suresh Asp, of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion

On and on they come, the fools.
According to their leaders’ plans.
Oblivious to the hidden patterns:
Schemes within schemes, great Tzeentch’s design,
In which they all are naught but pawns

He laughs, except for when he wakes
From dreams of falling silver spires,
The taste of ashes in his mouth.
(No man can know their master’s plan)

And all is dust

That’s 50% done 😉 Tomorrow, you’ll see where the other half of that Sorcerer Lord went…

Until then, thanks for looking and stay tuned for more!